Thousands of Sherbrooke, Que., residents have signed a petition against a proposed mega data centre that they say is being pushed to fruition by the municipal council with little transparency.

Residents are concerned about the environmental impact and noise of the project. They want environmental studies, public debate and are questioning the wisdom of allowing a U.S.-backed company to build a massive data centre in their backyard.

Jayson Roy is one of the residents behind the petition, which has collected more than 4,500 signatures. He says the city is cherry-picking the project’s supposed benefits, dismissing specific concerns and ignoring the larger picture.